It’s been over eighteen months since Apple first offered a sneak peek into AirPower, Apple’s own wireless charging mat capable of charging an iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch simultaneously. First announced in September 2017 with a potential release in 2018, Apple has since remained primarily silent about its whereabouts while rumors have swirled around potential production challenges and issues with AirPower.

Over the past few weeks, talk of AirPower has returned to the forefront in light of Apple’s recent product refreshes including a refresh of the 7.9-inch iPad Mini, revival of the iPad Air in a new 10.5-inch form factor, refresh of the iMac with processor upgrades and the option of Vega graphics, the release of the AirPods 2nd generation with wireless charging case and the announcement of new services including Apple News+, Apple Arcade, Apple Card and Apple TV+ at Apple’s March 25th event. If you missed the March 25th event, you can watch it on Apple’s website here.

On Friday, Apple made one additional announcement and it concerned the future of AirPower though not quite the one many were anticipating. AirPower is canceled!

As reported by TechCrunch, Apple’s SVP of Hardware Engineering, Dan Riccio, provided the following e-mailed statement:

“After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward.”

It certainly didn’t take long for this announcement to make it across media outlets and social media.

While Apple has put an end to AirPower, it doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t and/or aren’t working on other potential wireless charging products. But at least for now, if you’re looking for a wireless charging pad, you’ll need to step outside the Apple ecosystem.

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Last year, I made the move to wireless charging with the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad. While the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad works great, I decided to step up from a wireless charging pad to a wireless charging stand. With a stand, it’s easier to use your phone, watch content, etc. all while continuing to charge your device (you don’t need to lift your phone off the stand).

I researched a few different options and ultimately set my sights on the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Stand with Quick Charge 3.0 Charger. The Anker PowerWave 7.5 Stand is very similar to the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad. Included in the box are the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Stand, a micro-USB to USB cable and a Quick Charge 3.0 Charger. The Anker PowerWave 7.5 Stand features a front-side LED indicator to let you know your device is charging, a case-friendly design allowing you to charge your device while in its case (most cases should be compatible), a built-in cooling fan to prevent overheating and the stand will charge your phone in both the horizontal and vertical positions.

I also like that you don’t need to find the center position on the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Stand for the phone to charge properly. With the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad, if your phone is off-center, it may not charge properly so you need to make sure the LED indicator is lit.

The Anker PowerWave 7.5 Stand supports 7.5W fast charging on the iPhone 8/8 Plus/X (it should also work with the latest generation of iPhones - iPhone XS/XS Max/XR) and 10W fast charging on the Samsung S7/S8/S8+/S9/S9+ and Note 8. For a complete list of supported devices, visit the Anker website. The Anker PowerWave 7.5 Stand is available in two colors: white and black. The white model retails at $49.99 and the black model retails at $55.99. I’ll include links to both models below if you’re interested.

I’ve been using the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Stand for a couple of months and it works great. And yes, I still use the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad which also works great.

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Earlier this year, I decided to give wireless charging a try with my iPhone X. I researched different wireless charging pads from different manufacturers focusing on wireless charging pads that supported fast wireless charging (7.5W) for the iPhone X. I decided to try the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad.

The Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad supports 7.5W fast charging on the iPhone 8/8 Plus/X (it should also work with the latest generation of iPhones - iPhone XS/XS Max/XR) and 10W fast charging on the Samsung S7/S8/S8+/S9/S9+ and Note 8. You can check the Anker website for a full list of currently supported devices.

The Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad includes everything you need to get started including the wireless charging pad, micro-USB to USB cable and a Quick Charge 3.0 AC Adapter (some wireless charging pads do not include the AC adapter). The Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad features a LED indicator to let you know that your device is charging, a case-friendly design allowing you to charge your device while in its case (most cases should work) and has a built-in cooling fan to prevent overheating.

I’ve been using the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad since March and it works well. While I don’t necessarily mind using a cord to charge my device, I do like the convenience of not needing to have numerous cords lying around. I also like being able to charge my device while using Apple EarPods without the need for a dongle to split the lightning connector (ex: Belkin Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar). Of course, I could use Apple AirPods or Bluetooth-enabled earphones in lieu of Apple EarPods with the lightning connector.

The micro-USB to USB cable was just long enough for my purposes and you do need to center your device on the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad to properly charge the device (this is where the LED indicator becomes quite helpful). There have been a couple of times where my device wasn’t properly centered and did not start charging. That said, I haven’t run into any major problems with the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad and do recommend this wireless charging pad if you are in the market to get one.

The Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad costs around $50.

If you’re interested in the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad, I’ve included a link below. I’ve also included a link to the Belkin Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar which allows you to charge your supported iPhone via the lightning connector while simultaneously using your Apple Earpods with lightning connector if you need to go the wired route.

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Note: The links below include Affiliate Links. Please review the section entitled "Affiliate Links" in the Terms of Use of this website for additional information.